Five Ways to Engage Your Employees During the Winter Olympic Games

You may have to be an official Olympic sponsor to share those coveted Winter Games hashtags on social media, but your organization can still draw inspiration from the international competition to engage employees. With NBC airing a record 2,400 hours of coverage – including 1,800+ hours via live-streaming online or the NBC Sports app – it’s safe to say the Olympics are going to be a spectacle. Take advantage of the excitement around these highly anticipated games to bring some life to your office during the dreary winter months.

There are countless ways to infuse the Olympic spirit into your workplace culture. Here are five themes and activities that could help you energize your workforce during the 2018 Winter Olympics:

1. Unity – The Olympic Games have the unique ability to unite the country for a few weeks, no matter what’s happening in politics or pop culture. Embrace that sentiment and let the games unite your workforce. Odds are your employees will be live-streaming or following the Olympics in some capacity, so why not allow them to do it together and build camaraderie? Create an opportunity for employees to come together to watch a highly anticipated event during the day.
   
   Odds are your employees will be live-streaming or following the Olympics in some capacity, so why not allow them to do it together and build camaraderie?Click To Tweet
2. Inclusion – Pride runs deep during the Olympics, making it even more apparent that the U.S. is truly a melting pot of people from all different backgrounds. This is a great time to help employees embrace the diversity of your workforce. Whether your employees are immigrants, first-generation Americans or have different ancestries, recognize and celebrate that! Encourage employees to tactfully share their support for whatever countries they choose, and the meaning behind that support.
3. Wellness – There’s no better motivation to be active than seeing the country’s most elite athletes achieve greatness in pursuit of gold. Encourage your employees to participate in some friendly, cross-office competition using pedometers, smart phones or activity trackers. You could even assemble teams and provide weekly updates on which teams are achieving “Olympic status.”
4. Goal Setting – Now is the perfect time to check in with your employees on their growth and performance goals. Use the lure of the Olympics and the determination of these driven athletes to motivate your employees to set and work toward existing or new career goals.
5. Celebration – It’s so easy to show up for work each day and fall into the same habits. It’s rare that we take a step back to appreciate the great work being done. Take some time over the next few weeks to celebrate the wins, big and small. Did you win some new business? Did you launch a successful campaign? Did you receive a complimentary note from a client or coworker? Celebrate it! It’s all too easy to let these little victories get away from us, but seeing and acknowledging them can really help employees feel valued and appreciated.

How will you engage your employees during the Winter Olympic Games?

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